We got a contender
- Thread starter Cavanagh
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Not even waiting, he's already inventing struggles that don't even exist yet!
Anyone who's been around bball at any level, or sports in general, knows that teams/players often come out tight to begin games and seasons. 4-19 is bad, but then you have to recognize they went 0-11 in the first half, so righted the ship to 4-8 in the second. And all that, with the best shooter on the team, going 0-fer from 3. That won't happen often with Goode. I don't believe this will be a knock-down shooting team, but I do believe they'll be competent, or better, from 3 if they focus on moving the ball and taking good shots. I believe in Goode we have a legit knock-down type shooter, and good ones in Mbako and Cupps. I also believe Rice, Carlyle and Galloway will have their spots and all 3 will get into the 30%'s somewhere, so maybe averaging mid-30s. This will be a much better shooting team than last year.
I don't think there's any less meaningful stat/event in bball than having your shot blocked. If you pay attention, you have the best chance to grab the ball back and get it right back up and score, or a teammate can grab it, or if it goes out of bounds, you get it back. They look awesome and can change the momentum of a game, if you allow it too, but in terms of bad things that can happen on a court, it's not a big deal at all and might not even be a factor. Ballo battled them, controlled the paint and rebounded well. Not nearly as bad as a turnover.
He's a backup PG this year, so he does if he's just steady, doesn't make mistakes, runs the offense competently, plays decent D and makes some shots and FTs. He already does most of those things.
I don't understand it. He wears the Cream and Crimson and decided to come back, despite what I know was a frustrating year for him and the team last year. He also appears to work his ass off. I'll support every IU player who does all those things!
I like the kid and love it that he came back. Right now he seems like 10-11 on our depth chart.
He also wasn't "bad". And the team played fairly well when he was in the game. He moves the ball around well. He defends well. He plays with some pace. He isn't going to challenge Rice for the starting spot, but as a 10-15 minute per game backup, he's pretty darn good.
Maybe, but backup PG is a pretty important spot on good teams. What he could do is allow Carlyle and Galloway to not play PG and focus on being a scoring 2 and defending at a high level, which could not be a big thing (if one or both of them can competently play PG), or could be a pretty big thing if they are much better when playing the 2. Playing PG can often diminish what you can do elsewhere as you have to focus on distributing the ball and transition D at the top. I am pretty confident that playing PG last year, while he did it pretty ably, was partially responsible for TG's significant drop in 3 pt %.
Trey is a huge piece for this team. I still like him off the bench turning the game on it's ear, but he needs to play.
I'm dying to see Cupps come out and go 6 for 8 in a game, score 15 pts and the light goes off in his head. I think he just needs that one game where he's in the right spots and the right time, makes those shots and says "Oh, I get it now, this is how I can score at this level". I love the kid's effort but feels like we're playing 4 on 5 offense when he's out there sometimes.
Cupps will never be a scorer IMO. He is a solid on ball defender and sees the floor well. He is a heady kid that can be a serviceable QB on the floor.
well, like I said, it was only 1 instance, but he was squared up and calling for the ball with his hands out and it didn't come to him, so that could be more on someone else than on him. I don't think this is you, but folks here are often far too focused on scoring and thinking guys who don't score aren't playing well. Ballo can never score in the ways that Ware could, but he can (is?) still be a far more effective player by filling his role. Cupps is at best this season, the backup PG on a really solid, well-rounded roster. He can help a ton without scoring much as long as he takes the opportunities that come his way. Probably one of the biggest things that happens in the "sophomore jump" is recognizing how/when to score, and I agree a game like that would probably help his confidence trememendously, but as a backup PG, he can help this team a ton without scoring and that's likely to be his role anyway.
Agreed. The talk when we signed Cupps was that he'd be a solid 4 year player. He got thrown into the fire last season and came out just fine on the other side. What you're describing is what I think most of us were expecting his role would be in year 2. He'll be fine.
Ballo is gonna be Ballo. I thought he played OK in his first game with a new team, rebounded well and was good defensively. Hopefully he'll get a couple more buckets and be a double/double guy regularly.
Yes, he was thrown into the fire which should help him since he came out the other side. Hopefully some intangibles were forged last year.
Dude you can stop…I’m not a Pu fan. Just not the sunshine pumper. This program has been a huge disappointment for a long time. Woody needs to go and get a proven winner
Both him and Goode off the bench doing this could really be huge. If Tucker comes on early, that will be a real problem for B1G teams.
Also I hope Bryson Tucker can be a more polished and in control Troy Williams. He needs to be able to drive to the cup.
Obviously none of us know...but I would think it more likely that Trey comes off the bench, than Carlyle. But I do think its entirely possible Trey plays more minutes than Carlyle does. Actually over Carlyle at times, but then also sliding and playing alongside Carlyle, as the 3 man.
You guys haven't watched Goode play the past three years and it shows.
i'm not expecting him to ever be a 10-15ppg type of player. Just someone who the defense has to play honestly and straight up. And if his man plays too tight, can take it to the hole and score/get fouled, or find an open man if a defender leaves his man to help. I didn't get to watch a replay of the TN exhb game yet, just glanced at the box score and saw he was the only player on the team who didn't attempt one shot, yet still almost fouled out. Maybe, in the words of CTC...I need to go watch the game film. But believe me, I'm pulling for the kid because he does do a lot of other little things right and no one can knock the effort when he's on the court.
He's a poor man's Miller Kopp ... at best.
Right. I think the expectations are too high for him. He'll make a three or two each game and he'll keep things even while he's in. At Illinois he was never a guy that extended runs or anything like that or dagger shots. Just a nice bench piece/rotation player. Maybe he can expand on that more here, but that's not what he's been previously.
He’s a steady bench player who can keep teams honest for a stretch. Strong side shooter. If get hits one or two while he’s in that’s what he is there for.
like Goode, who's been on a winning B10 program, that went to an E8 last year and I think has won a B10 title or 2? Or Ballo who's played on great teams at AZ and Gonzaga? Or Rice who as a freshman lifted his Wash St team into the NCAA tourney?
Goode is a solid all around and team guy, but he also instantly becomes the best shooter on the team... just as Kopp was. Kopp started for 2 years, and Goode came here knowing he'd be a bench guy. But we've been a horrid shooting team, so getting a shooter as solid as him that can play and defend a couple positions, isn't nothing either. He could be a solid contributor on a team that could win the B10 and advance past the first rd of the tourney, so he has the opportunity to do things that Kopp teams didn't.
Every player ever has more control than Troy Williams .. it's the lowest bar possible.
trey is amazingly effective off the bench turning th game on it's ear. Disrupts what other teams want to do and gets under their skin.
i watched a little of that IU/UK tourney game from 2016 last night. I forgot how out of control Williams was, going coast to coast with the ball. He did seem to find the basket at times while defying the laws of physics, but damn was that kid a tornado in motion on the court. A rare case where a kid had almost too much physical ability for his own good, paired with a coach who had no plan to reel him in. But will also admit, watching that team's offense was more enjoyable than what I've seen from CMW's teams, to this point in time. Wasn't always sound basketball, but was entertaining when they were clicking and hitting shots. I then found the game in Ann Arbor when they went nuclear in that 28-0 run. Also fun to relive. That team did a good job of moving the ball on offense. Helped to have Yogi in the driver's seat.
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All gas, no brakes. That's the best way I can describe Troy.
A good coach would have tried to utilize his strengths and mask his weaknesses. He should not have been handling the ball in traffic and relying on decision making.
The problem is that all it takes is one coast to coast highlight dunk and our coach lets him do whatever, thinking that his ability to handle pressure and collapsing defenders is his strength.
In short: I blame the coach, at least in great part.
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